Predictive approach to URL determination

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, computer program products, and systems for suggesting uniform resource locators located at previously unknown hosts to users. Embodiments of the present invention can be used to record uniform resource locators (URLs) associated with web resources accessed by a user and usage details pertaining to the user&#39;s usage of the web resources. Responsive to receiving a request to access a hostname not stored in the recorded URLs, embodiments of the present invention can be used to receive URLs associated with web resources available at the hostname and assign weight values to the received URLs based, at least in part, on the usage details and a similarity between the received URLs and the recorded URLs. Embodiments of the present invention can then be used to generate a URL suggestion from the received URLs based, at least in part, on the assigned weight values.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to field of URL determination,and more particularly, to URL determination to a previously unknownhost.

Typically, a graphical control element address bar, also referred to asa location bar or Uniform Resource Locator (URL) bar, allows a user toinput a URL in a web browser. Once inputted, the URL navigates the userto a chosen website in a web browser. Many address bars offer featuressuch as autocomplete and a list of suggestions while a URL is beingtyped in. Typically, auto-completion features base suggestions on a webbrowser's history.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the present invention provide methods, computer programproducts, and systems for suggesting uniform resource locators locatedat previously unknown hosts to users. In one embodiment of the presentinvention, a computer-implemented method is provided comprising:recording uniform resource locators (URLs) associated with web resourcesaccessed by a user and usage details pertaining to the user's usage ofthe web resources; responsive to receiving a request to access ahostname not stored in the recorded URLs, receiving URLs associated withweb resources available at the hostname; assigning weight values to thereceived URLs based, at least in part, on the usage details and asimilarity between the received URLs and the recorded URLs; andgenerating a URL suggestion from the received URLs based, at least inpart, on the assigned weight values.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a computing environment, in accordance withan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a machine logic (for example,software) portion, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating operational steps for generating aURL suggestion for a previously unknown host, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of internal and external components of thecomputer systems of FIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention recognize that known URLautocomplete features do not provide suggestions to previously unknownhosts. Typically, autocomplete features suggest URLs based on previousvisits to websites. Embodiments of the present invention providesolutions for suggesting URLs located at previously unknown hosts tousers. In this manner, as described in greater detail in thisspecification, embodiments of the present invention can be used togenerate URL suggestions for unknown hosts, based, at least in part, onuser browsing history (e.g., amount of time spent accessing a URL,frequency with which that URL is accessed, frequency with which that URLis visited by others, time duration between accessing that URL,similarity between a new hostname and a previously accessed host), userpreferences (e.g., bookmark tags, user credentials, etc.), and openapplications on a user's system.

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram of a computing environment 100, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Computerenvironment 100 includes computer system 102 and computer system 120.Computer system 102 and computer system 120 can be desktop computers,laptop computers, specialized computer servers, or any other computersystems known in the art. In certain embodiments, computer system 102and computer system 120 represent computer systems utilizing clusteredcomputers and components to act as a single pool of seamless resourceswhen accessed through network 118. For example, such embodiments may beused in data center, cloud computing, storage area network (SAN), andnetwork attached storage (NAS) applications. In certain embodiments,computer system 102 and computer system 120 represent virtual machines.In general, computer system 102 and computer system 120 arerepresentative of any electronic devices, or combination of electronicdevices, capable of executing machine-readable program instructions, asdescribed in greater detail with regard to FIG. 4.

Computer system 102 includes URL determination program 104, browser 114,and cookies 116. URL determination program 104 generates URL suggestionsfor previously unknown hosts (i.e., websites not previously visited by auser) based, at least in part on user browser history and openapplications on a user's computer. In this embodiment, responsive toreceiving a hostname, URL determination program 104 generates URLsuggestions for previously unknown hosts by monitoring a user's browserhistory, ranking existing bookmarks and previously visited URLs, andmatching aspects of those previously accessed context URLs to thereceived hostname as discussed in greater detail with regard to FIG. 3.

Some factors that can be used by URL determination program 104 ingenerating URL suggestions are the amount of time spent accessing a URL,frequency with which that URL is accessed, frequency with which that URLis visited by others, time duration between accessing that URL,similarity between a new hostname and a previously accessed host, aswell as, bookmark tags, user credentials, and open programs running on auser's system.

In this embodiment, the URLs utilized for comparison to determinesimilarity to the received hostname are not located on the same host asthe recommended URL. In other words, URL determination program 104utilizes URLs from a user's browser history, compares those URLs to thereceived hostname, and utilizes aspects of the URLs from a user'sbrowser history to generate a URL recommendation, as discussed ingreater detail with regard to FIG. 3. For example, a user's browserhistory can have the following URLs: www.server1.bb.com/records/salesand www.web1.com/records. Responsive to receive a new host name (e.g.,www.server99.bb.com), URL determination program 104 can access theuser's browser history, compare the URLs found in the user's browserhistory to determine similarity to the received host name, and generateURL suggestions by reusing aspects of the previously visited URLs. Forexample, URL determination program 104 can generate a URL suggestion ofwww.server99.bb.com/records/sales.

URL determination program 104 includes one or more modules that helpgenerate URL suggestions for previously unknown hosts such as, URLrelatedness module 106, running program identifier module 108, URLgenerator module 110, and input/output module 112, as discussed ingreater detail with regard to FIG. 2.

Browser 114 is receives URL suggestions from URL determination program104 and connects a user to a webpage, image, video, or content of therespective entered URL. In general, browser 114 can be implemented withsoftware application for retrieving, presenting, and traversinginformation resources on the Internet.

Cookies 116 store browser history of the user. For example, theinformation in each cookie of cookies 116 may be analyzed by a module ofURL determination program 104 to identify previously accessed hostnames.For example, URL determination program 104 can identify a previouslyaccessed hostname and determine its similarity to a received user input(e.g., a previously unknown hostname). Information in cookies 116 can beweb pages visited by the user, user credentials for different web pages,web pages visited by other users, etc.

In other embodiments, cookies 116 can be sent to computer system 120 foranalysis (e.g., determining module 124). For example, in someembodiments information in cookies 116 can be sent whenever cookies 116are changed or updated, while in other embodiments, the information incookies 116 can be sent according to a prearranged schedule.

Computer system 120 hosts one or more webpages that may be accessed bybrowser 114 and includes URL database 122 and determining module 124.URL database 122 is a collection of one or more URLs and theirrespective websites. URL database 122 includes a web crawler (not shown)that appends URLs browsed by a user to URL database 122.

Determining module 124 receives and analyzes cookies 116 in someembodiments. For example, determining module 124 can analyze cookies 116in order to determine stateful information such as a user's credentialswhen accessing a website, previously visited sections of websites, etc.Determining module 124 can analyze cookies 116 and determine relevantweb pages that a user might want to visit in a previously unknown host.For example, determining module 124 can analyze cookies 116 anddetermine similarities between previously accessed hosts and receivedrequests to connect to unknown hosts. For example, responsive toreceiving a request to connect to www.server1.us.coolblue.com,determining module 124 can access cookies 116 to determine that hostname2 (e.g., www.server1.us.coolblue.com) is similar to a previouslyaccessed website, hostname 1 (e.g., www.server99.us.coolblue.com).Furthermore, determining module 124 can access cookies 116 and determinewhich sections of previously accessed hostnames might be relevant to auser request. For example, determining module 124 can identify that theuser has accessed the “sales” section of hostname 1.

Network 118 can be, for example, a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN) such as the Internet, or a combination of the two, andinclude wired, wireless, or fiber optic connections. In general, network118 can be any combination of connections and protocols that willsupport communications between computer system 102 and computer system120, in accordance with a desired embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a machine logic (for example,software) portion, in accordance with an embodiment of the presentinvention.

URL determination program 104 includes URL relatedness module 106,running program identifier module 108, URL generator module 110, andinput/output module 112 (collectively referred to as the modules). Forillustrative purposes, the following is discussed with respect to themodules residing in a single program (e.g., URL determination program104) on a single computer (e.g., computer system 102). However, itshould be understood that the modules can reside on one or more multiplecomputer systems that interact with each other to act as a single poolof seamless resources when accessed through network 118.

URL relatedness module 106 receives a hostname and determines whetherthe received hostname has been visited by the user. In this embodiment,URL relatedness module 106 determines whether the received hostnamematches a previously visited website by comparing the received hostnameto a user's browsing history and/or information contained in cookies 116(e.g., browsing history of previously accessed). For example, a user cantype in a hostname (e.g., hostname1) into the address bar of browser114. Responsive to receiving the hostname, URL relatedness modules 106can access a user's browsing history to determine if a previouslyvisited website matches the received hostname.

Running program identifier module 108 monitors running programs oncomputer system 102. Responsive to receiving a request to generate a URLsuggestion, URL determination program 104 can invoke running programidentifier module 108 to determine active programs on a user's system(e.g., computer system 102). In general, running program identifiermodule 108 can be implemented with any combination of software and/orhardware capable of monitor programs, processes, and services that arecurrently running on computer system 102.

URL generator module 110 receives information from URL relatednessmodule 106 and running program identifier module 108 to generate URLsuggestions to previously unknown hosts. In this embodiment, URLgenerator module 110 reuses aspects of previously visited URLs togenerate a URL suggestion for the previously unvisited domain. Forexample, URL generator module 110 can reuse subdirectories and files ofa previously visited URL to suggest a new URL for the previouslyunvisited domain. In this embodiment URL generator module 110 generatesURL suggestions for previously unknown hosts based, at least in part, oncollected weighting data.

The weighting data is based on usage details obtained by URL relatednessmodule 106 and running program identifier module 108. The term “usagedetails”, as used herein, refers to metrics used to measure useractivity (e.g., amount of time spent accessing a URL, frequency withwhich that URL is accessed, frequency with which that URL is visited byothers, time duration between accessing that URL, similarity between anew hostname and a previously accessed host) and preferences (e.g.,bookmark tags, user credentials, etc.), as well as open applications ona user's system.

In this embodiment, a suggestion assigned a higher weight indicates thata webpage has a higher relevance to a user input (e.g., a hostnameinputted into browser 114). In this embodiment, a numerical weightingscale is used, where lowers numbers represent lesser weights and highernumbers represent greater weights. In other embodiments, any desirableweighting scale can be used. Furthermore, in this embodiment, theweighting of particular metrics used to measure user activity can changedynamically according to changes in operating conditions and usage. Forexample, as a particular section of a web page is accessed morefrequently for longer periods of time, the weighting of that web pagemay be increased.

In this embodiment, URL generator module 110 generates URL suggestionsto previously unknown hosts by assigning each usage detail a weightedvalue. In this embodiment, a user may specify thresholds for each metricused to measure usage details. In this embodiment, the usage detailsthat are used to weight the URL suggestions include the amount of timespent accessing a URL, frequency with which that URL is accessed,frequency with which that URL is visited by others, time durationbetween accessing that URL, similarity between a new hostname and apreviously accessed host, preferences (e.g., bookmark tags, usercredentials, etc.), as well as open applications on a user's system.

For example, a user may specify a threshold of five minutes spent on awebpage. Responsive to determining that a user has spent five minutes ona webpage, URL generator module 110 assigns a weight value of “1” tothat URL suggestion containing aspects of the previously visitedwebpage. In other words, URL generator module 110 assigns a weight valueof “1” for that particular usage detail (e.g., amount of time spent on apreviously visited website) to determine relevance of that usage detail.Where a user spends another five minutes on that URL, URL generatormodule 110 assigns another weight value of “1”, and so on. In anotherexample, a user may specify a threshold of five for the number of timesa user visits a URL (e.g., responsive to determining a user has visiteda URL five times, URL generator module 110 assigns that URL a weightvalue of “1”). In another example, URL generator module 110 can assignweight values based on the similarity between a received, new hostnameand a previously accessed host. Similarly, URL generator module 110 canassign weight values for each of the above-mentioned usage details. Thehighest total point value is assigned the highest weight, which, aspreviously discussed, indicates that a URL suggestion containing aspectsof those usage details has a higher relevance to a user input (e.g., ahostname inputted into browser 114). In other embodiments, other usagedetails can be used to weight the nodes.

In other embodiments, URL determination module 110 can prioritize andrank URL suggestions without assigning weighted values for the usagedetails. For example, URL determination module 110 can rank a URLsuggestion by determining similarity between the new hostname (e.g., thehostname, previously unknown, inputted into browser 114) and previouslyaccessed hosts. For example, URL determination module 110 can determinethat the new hostname is server99.us.cool.com is similar a previouslyaccessed hostname server1.us.cool.com. Responsive to determining thatthe new hostname is similar to a previously accessed hostname, URLdetermination module 110 can assign a high rank the previouslyidentified hostname. In this other embodiment, a numerical ranking scaleis used, where lowers numbers represent greater ranks and higher numbersrepresent lesser ranks.

Where the other usage details are equal (e.g., time of access such asworking hours vs. non-working hours), frequency with which a URL isbrowsed (e.g., web sites used more frequently are assumed to be morerelevant), frequency with which a URL is visited by others (e.g., pagesvisited by others more often are ranked higher, for example, wheresocial relationships exist, such as colleagues, teammates, friend,etc.), duration between time the user last accessed the URL (e.g.,recently visited websites are ranked higher), applications running onthe computer while hostname is being typed (e.g., programs running thathave similar functions and activities to the received URL would beranked higher)), similarity between the received hostname and apreviously accessed hostname determines rank. In other words, thepreviously accessed hostname that closely resembles the receivedhostname would be assigned the higher rank.

Input/output module 112 receives information from and transmits thereceived information to one or more components of computing environment100. For example, input/output module 112 can receive a hostname andtransmit the received hostname to URL relatedness module 106 and runningprogram identifier module 108. Responsive to receiving outputs from URLrelatedness module 106 and running program identifier module 108,input/output module 112 can transmit the received outputs to URLgenerator module 110. Responsive to receiving an output from URLgenerator module 110, input/output module 112 can transmit the receivedoutput to browser 114 as a list of suggestions.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart 200 illustrating operational steps for generatinga URL suggestion for a previously unknown host, in accordance with anembodiment of the present invention.

In step 202, input/output module 112 receives a hostname. In thisembodiment, input/output module 112 can receive a hostname from browser114. In other embodiments, input/output module 112 can receive ahostname from one or more other components of computing environment 100.

In step 204, URL relatedness module 106 and running program identifiermodule 108 accesses and records usage details. In this embodiment, theusage details include an amount of time spent accessing a URL, frequencywith which that URL is accessed, frequency with which that URL isvisited by others, time duration between accessing that URL, similaritybetween the received hostname and a previously accessed host, userpreferences (e.g., bookmark tags, user credentials, etc.), as well asopen applications on a user's system.

Where URL relatedness module 106 has no previously recorded usagedetails (i.e., where this is the first instance URL determining program104 is being run), URL relatedness module 106 records usage details forthe first time. For example, URL relatedness module 106 can record thata user has visited three webpages (e.g., webpage A, B, and C), spentfive minutes on webpage A, spent two minutes on webpage B, andbookmarked webpage C. Running program identifier module 108 can recordthat the user had the following programs running: text processingprogram and a media player.

In instances where URL relatedness module 106 has previously recordedusage details, URL relatedness module 106 accesses and updates therecorded usage details. Continuing the above example, URL relatednessmodule 106 can identify that the user has visited the same threewebpages three times a week, during the hours of 9:00 am to 10:00 am,and has accessed each page for five minutes. Running program identifiermodule 108 can also identify that the text processing program was alsorunning.

In step 206, URL generator module 110 assigns weight values to the usagedetails. In this embodiment each usage detail associated with an URL isassigned a point value that is used to determine the weight assigned tothat URL. In this embodiment, the usage details used to weight the URLsinclude the amount of time spent accessing a URL, frequency with whichthat URL is accessed, frequency with which that URL is visited byothers, time duration between accessing that URL, similarity between anew hostname and a previously accessed host), preferences (e.g.,bookmark tags, user credentials, etc.), as well as open applications ona user's system. The highest total point value is assigned the highestweight, which, as previously discussed, indicates that a higher weightindicates that a webpage has a higher relevance to a user input (e.g., ahostname inputted into browser 114).

In this embodiment, URL generator module 110 can access and assignweights to the usage details provided by URL relatedness module 106 andrunning program identifier module 108. For example, URL determinationprogram 104 can receive a user input (via input/output module 112) for“www.server99.us.bsquared.com”. Responsive to receiving the user input,URL generator module 110 can access the usage details provided by URLrelatedness module 106 and running program identifier module 108.

In this example, the usage details can include details for fivewebpages, A-E. Webpage A has the accompanying URLwww.server1.us.bsquared.com. Webpage B has the accompanying URLwww.server1.us.bsquared.com/sales+distribution. Webpage C has theaccompanying URLwww.server1.us.bsquared.com/sales+distribution/product19. Website D hasthe accompanying URL www.searchengine.com. Webpage E has theaccompanying URL www.referenceweb.com.

URL generator module 110 can assign point values to each usage detail ofthe seven webpages. In this example, for similarity to the receivedhostname, URL generator module 110 can assign a point value of “10” forwebpages A-C (because www.server1.us.bsquared.com is similar towww.server99.us.bsquared.com), a point value of “0” for webpages D andE. For frequency, URL generator module 110 can assign the followingpoint values of 5, 6, 4, 2, and 3 for webpages A-E, respectively. Forduration, URL generator module 110 can assign the following point valuesof 5, 6, 10, 5, and 5 for webpages A-E respectively. For bookmarks, URLgenerator module 110 can assign the following point values of 2, 0, 0,1, and 1 for webpages A-E.

In step 208, URL generator module 110 identifies URL suggestions havingthe greatest cumulative weight. The term “greatest cumulative weight”,as used herein, refers to the sum total of the weight of a URL (i.e.,previously accessed and bookmarked URLs).

Continuing the above example, URL generator module 110 can identify theURLs having the greatest cumulative weight. For example, URL generatormodule 110 can identify webpage A as having a cumulative weight of 22(10+5+5+2), webpage B as having a cumulative weight of 22 (10+6+6+0),webpage C as having a cumulative weight of 27 (10+7+10+0), webpage D ashaving a cumulative weight of 8 (0+2+5+1), and Webpage E as having acumulative weight of 9 (0+3+5+1). URL generator module 110 can thenreturn those as URL suggestions in the following order, webpage C(www.server1.us.bsquared.com/sales+distribution/product19), webpage A(www.server1.us.bsquared.com), webpage B(www.server1.us.bsquared.com/sales+distribution), webpage D(www.searchengine.com), and webpage E (www.referenceweb.com).

Accordingly, URL generator module 110 can use those rankings to generatesuggestions to connect a user to a previously unknown host. For example,responsive to receiving a hostname for www.server99.us.bsquared.com, URLgenerator module 110 can assign weighted values for usage details aspreviously discussed and use the URLs with the greatest cumulativeweight to generate suggestions (e.g., webpage D associated with the URL,www.server1.us.bsquared.com/sales+distribution/product19 can be used togenerate a suggestion ofwww.server99.us.bsquared.com/sales+distribution/product19, emphasisadded). In some instances, a user may specify a threshold for displayedresults. For example, a user may specify that URLs below a certainsimilarity level (e.g., as determined by greatest cumulative weight)will not be displayed. In this embodiment, webpages below a similaritylevel of 50% will be excluded from the displayed results. Continuing theabove example, URL generator module 110 would exclude webpages D and Eas suggestions. In other embodiments, the specified threshold can beconfigured to any user-defined threshold.

In other embodiments, URL generator module 110 can rank known (butunvisited) URLs on the new hostname based on the usage details ofsimilar webpages on previously visited domains. For example, URLgenerator module 110 can identify that a user has visited the domain“bsquared” and has visited the following pages on “bsquared”: sales anddistribution. Responsive to receiving a request to connect to a new host(e.g., a different server of domain “bsquared”) URL generator module 110can identify the similarity of the host names, assign weight values,based, at least in part, on the usage details of previously accessedhosts, and rank the known but unvisited URLS on the new hostname.Accordingly, URL generator module 110 can display utilize those rankingsto generate URL suggestions.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of internal and external components of acomputer system 400, which is representative the computer systems ofFIG. 1, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Itshould be appreciated that FIG. 4 provides only an illustration of oneimplementation and does not imply any limitations with regard to theenvironments in which different embodiments may be implemented. Ingeneral, the components illustrated in FIG. 4 are representative of anyelectronic device capable of executing machine-readable programinstructions. Examples of computer systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be represented by the components illustrated inFIG. 4 include, but are not limited to, personal computer systems,server computer systems, thin clients, thick clients, laptop computersystems, tablet computer systems, cellular telephones (e.g., smartphones), multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems, networkPCs, minicomputer systems, mainframe computer systems, and distributedcloud computing environments that include any of the above systems ordevices.

Computer system 400 includes communications fabric 402, which providesfor communications between one or more processors 404, memory 406,persistent storage 408, communications unit 412, and one or moreinput/output (I/O) interfaces 414. Communications fabric 402 can beimplemented with any architecture designed for passing data and/orcontrol information between processors (such as microprocessors,communications and network processors, etc.), system memory, peripheraldevices, and any other hardware components within a system. For example,communications fabric 402 can be implemented with one or more buses.

Memory 406 and persistent storage 408 are computer-readable storagemedia. In this embodiment, memory 406 includes random access memory(RAM) 416 and cache memory 418. In general, memory 406 can include anysuitable volatile or non-volatile computer-readable storage media.Software is stored in persistent storage 408 for execution and/or accessby one or more of the respective processors 404 via one or more memoriesof memory 406.

Persistent storage 408 may include, for example, a plurality of magnetichard disk drives. Alternatively, or in addition to magnetic hard diskdrives, persistent storage 408 can include one or more solid state harddrives, semiconductor storage devices, read-only memories (ROM),erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROM), flash memories, or anyother computer-readable storage media that is capable of storing programinstructions or digital information.

The media used by persistent storage 408 can also be removable. Forexample, a removable hard drive can be used for persistent storage 408.Other examples include optical and magnetic disks, thumb drives, andsmart cards that are inserted into a drive for transfer onto anothercomputer-readable storage medium that is also part of persistent storage408.

Communications unit 412 provides for communications with other computersystems or devices via a network (e.g., network 118). In this exemplaryembodiment, communications unit 412 includes network adapters orinterfaces such as a TCP/IP adapter cards, wireless Wi-Fi interfacecards, or 3G or 4G wireless interface cards or other wired or wirelesscommunication links. The network can comprise, for example, copperwires, optical fibers, wireless transmission, routers, firewalls,switches, gateway computers and/or edge servers. Software and data usedto practice embodiments of the present invention can be downloaded tocomputer system 102 through communications unit 412 (e.g., via theInternet, a local area network or other wide area network). Fromcommunications unit 412, the software and data can be loaded ontopersistent storage 408.

One or more I/O interfaces 414 allow for input and output of data withother devices that may be connected to computer system 400. For example,I/O interface 414 can provide a connection to one or more externaldevices 420 such as a keyboard, computer mouse, touch screen, virtualkeyboard, touch pad, pointing device, or other human interface devices.External devices 420 can also include portable computer-readable storagemedia such as, for example, thumb drives, portable optical or magneticdisks, and memory cards. I/O interface 414 also connects to display 422.

Display 422 provides a mechanism to display data to a user and can be,for example, a computer monitor. Display 422 can also be an incorporateddisplay and may function as a touch screen, such as a built-in displayof a tablet computer.

The present invention may be a system, a method, and/or a computerprogram product. The computer program product may include a computerreadable storage medium (or media) having computer readable programinstructions thereon for causing a processor to carry out aspects of thepresent invention.

The computer readable storage medium can be a tangible device that canretain and store instructions for use by an instruction executiondevice. The computer readable storage medium may be, for example, but isnot limited to, an electronic storage device, a magnetic storage device,an optical storage device, an electromagnetic storage device, asemiconductor storage device, or any suitable combination of theforegoing. A non-exhaustive list of more specific examples of thecomputer readable storage medium includes the following: a portablecomputer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), aread-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROMor Flash memory), a static random access memory (SRAM), a portablecompact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital versatile disk (DVD),a memory stick, a floppy disk, a mechanically encoded device such aspunch-cards or raised structures in a groove having instructionsrecorded thereon, and any suitable combination of the foregoing. Acomputer readable storage medium, as used herein, is not to be construedas being transitory signals per se, such as radio waves or other freelypropagating electromagnetic waves, electromagnetic waves propagatingthrough a waveguide or other transmission media (e.g., light pulsespassing through a fiber-optic cable), or electrical signals transmittedthrough a wire.

Computer readable program instructions described herein can bedownloaded to respective computing/processing devices from a computerreadable storage medium or to an external computer or external storagedevice via a network, for example, the Internet, a local area network, awide area network and/or a wireless network. The network may comprisecopper transmission cables, optical transmission fibers, wirelesstransmission, routers, firewalls, switches, gateway computers and/oredge servers. A network adapter card or network interface in eachcomputing/processing device receives computer readable programinstructions from the network and forwards the computer readable programinstructions for storage in a computer readable storage medium withinthe respective computing/processing device.

Computer readable program instructions for carrying out operations ofthe present invention may be assembler instructions,instruction-set-architecture (ISA) instructions, machine instructions,machine dependent instructions, microcode, firmware instructions,state-setting data, or either source code or object code written in anycombination of one or more programming languages, including an objectoriented programming language such as Smalltalk, C++ or the like, andconventional procedural programming languages, such as the “C”programming language or similar programming languages. The computerreadable program instructions may execute entirely on the user'scomputer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone softwarepackage, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computeror entirely on the remote computer or server. In the latter scenario,the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through anytype of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer(for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).In some embodiments, electronic circuitry including, for example,programmable logic circuitry, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGA), orprogrammable logic arrays (PLA) may execute the computer readableprogram instructions by utilizing state information of the computerreadable program instructions to personalize the electronic circuitry,in order to perform aspects of the present invention.

Aspects of the present invention are described herein with reference toflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus(systems), and computer program products according to embodiments of theinvention. It will be understood that each block of the flowchartillustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in theflowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented bycomputer readable program instructions.

These computer readable program instructions may be provided to aprocessor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, orother programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, suchthat the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computeror other programmable data processing apparatus, create means forimplementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or blockdiagram block or blocks. These computer readable program instructionsmay also be stored in a computer readable storage medium that can directa computer, a programmable data processing apparatus, and/or otherdevices to function in a particular manner, such that the computerreadable storage medium having instructions stored therein comprises anarticle of manufacture including instructions which implement aspects ofthe function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram blockor blocks.

The computer readable program instructions may also be loaded onto acomputer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other deviceto cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer,other programmable apparatus or other device to produce a computerimplemented process, such that the instructions which execute on thecomputer, other programmable apparatus, or other device implement thefunctions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block orblocks.

The flowchart and block diagrams in the Figures illustrate thearchitecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementationsof systems, methods, and computer program products according to variousembodiments of the present invention. In this regard, each block in theflowchart or block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portionof instructions, which comprises one or more executable instructions forimplementing the specified logical function(s). In some alternativeimplementations, the functions noted in the block may occur out of theorder noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in successionmay, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality involved. It will also be noted that each block of theblock diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, and combinations of blocksin the block diagrams and/or flowchart illustration, can be implementedby special purpose hardware-based systems that perform the specifiedfunctions or acts or carry out combinations of special purpose hardwareand computer instructions.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain the principles ofthe embodiment, the practical application or technical improvement overtechnologies found in the marketplace, or to enable others of ordinaryskill in the art to understand the embodiments disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer system comprising: one or morecomputer processors; one or more non-transitory computer readablestorage media; and program instructions stored on the one or morenon-transitory computer readable storage media for execution by at leastone of the one or more computer processors, the program instructionscomprising: program instructions to record uniform resource locators(URLs) associated with web resources accessed by a user and usagedetails pertaining to the user's usage of the web resources, wherein theusage details comprise browsing history of a user, an amount of timespent accessing one or more URLs, frequency with which the one or moreURLs are accessed, and duration between accessing the one or more URLs;program instructions to, responsive to receiving a request to access ahostname not stored in the recorded URLs from a partial URL typed by theuser into an address bar of a web browser, receive URLs associated withweb resources available at the hostname; program instructions to assignweight values to the received URLs based, at least in part, on the usagedetails and a similarity between the received URLs and the recordedURLs, wherein the similarity between the received URLs and the recordedURLs is based on a number of shared characters; and program instructionsto generate a URL suggestion from the received URLs based, at least inpart, on the assigned weight values, wherein the generated URLsuggestion is displayed to the user in the address bar of the webbrowser; wherein the program instructions to assign weight values to thereceived URLs based, at least in part, on the usage details and asimilarity between the received URLs and the recorded URLs comprise:program instructions to rank the received URLs according to theirrespective similarities to the recorded URLs, program instructions todetermine a subset of the received URLs based on their respectiverankings, program instructions to rank the received URLs in thedetermined subset based on the usage details of their respectivelysimilar recorded URLs, and program instructions to assign weight valuesto the received URLs in the determined subset based on their respectiverankings in the subset.